Per Christum

…because of high gas prices. Are Americans starting to think a little smarter?

Well, I guess doing something beats constantly complaining about high prices and doing nothing about it, which has seemed to be the trend among American drivers for too long. I like my 32 mpg car quite well, even if it doesn’t give me the “status” that a Hummer would give me, but I’d prefer the extra $$ in my pocket at the end of the month to any so-called status.

[Let it be known, that growing up and living now in a rural area, I know that some folks need big vehicles for agriculture and transportation.]

I know this question isn’t too religious or of a religious nature, but I am curious. Since many of us in the U.S.  will be getting rebate checks in the mail soon (not me yet…since my accountant still hasn’t filed yet, although she did file an extension), what do you plan to do with yours?

I am thinking of depositing mine in the bank and viewing it as a “gas rebate” for the year. I spend about 70 dollars in gas a month (I don’t drive much and work is 1 minute away), so $600 goes a good way to cover that. So I will probably place mine in the bank, and mentally earmark it for gas. I also will probably give some of it to some kind of charity. I admit I am not too sure that this is going to do too much for our economy, or if it is a good idea for an already debt-ridden government to be spending more money, but I rarely benefit from government handouts, so I will be a grateful receiver. So what about you? What are you going to do with yours?

You cannot pray at home as at church, where there is a great multitude, where exclamations are cried out to God as from one great heart, and where there is something more: the union of minds, the accord of souls, the bond of charity, the prayers of the priests. ~St. John Chrysostom, De incomprehensibili

The Early Show informed its viewers today that 5% of Catholics polled do not attend church at all. For those of you who may not be familiar with the Catholic Church, we believe Mass attendance is essential to the growth of our faith (please see the quick review at the end of this post).

With this in mind, I ask my question to the 5%: If you do not desire the Mass, the Eucharist, why do you desire to be known as Catholic? Please, do not misunderstand me. I am genuinely curious. During my time away from the Catholic Church, I would have emphatically told anyone in earshot that I was NOT Catholic, and never wanted to be considered Catholic. And I didn’t care what the Church taught on the Sacraments, much to my mother’s dismay, but that’s another story.

Being Catholic is not inherited. There is no DNA sequence that sets us apart from the “rest” of the world. For example, I took genetics classes in college but I would not consider myself to be a geneticist. I would not even consider myself remotely capable to understand what it means to do genetic work on a day to day basis. David has made a similar point previously. This is why I ask. So why classify yourself as a Catholic? Is it traditions in your home that define being Catholic to you? Or maybe it is flakiness that keeps you away from your church?

As a Catholic who goes to Mass and sees the value of it in my everyday life, I would like to extend an invitation to lapsed Catholics to come back to the Eucharistic feast. We would love to have you home again. But if its not for you, we won’t hold it against you. Nonetheless, I am still wondering, why claim to be Catholic when you don’t participate in the rituals that make one Catholic?

Read the rest of this entry »

Basilian Bishop, Kyr Dionysius Lachovicz, OSBM. 
 

Four Basilian Consecrated Without Mandate This Month

In November 2007, the Catholic World News (www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=54919) reported on excommunication of Father Basil Kovpak, the head of the Priestly Society of Saint Josaphat Kuntsevych (SSJK), a group with ties to the traditionalist Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) which has been active among Byzantine Catholics in the Ukraine since the early 1990s. Bishops of the SPPX –  themselves excommunicated because they were consecrated without approval from the Holy See – ordained two priests and seven deacons for the SSJK. On 23 March 2008, this past Easter Sunday (according to the Gregorian Calendar), the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church (UGCC) published a communiqué about the latest schism to divide its unstable ranks. Four members of the Basilian Order of St. Josaphat – Eliáš Dohnal, Metoděj Špiřík, Markian Hitiuk and Robert Oberhauser – were consecrated bishops without having been nominated by the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Synod and without a papal approval. Thus, according to CCEO, canon 1459 §1, they have automatically encurred the penalty of excommunication.  

Read the rest of this entry »

As a little background there is a documentary coming out of the Netherlands dealing with the violent side of Islam. Getting it released to theaters is pretty well impossible. These days, showing it on TV is rather out of the question too.

And then there is the net. Or is there?From Jihadwatch.org: Read the rest of this entry »

Saint Edmund of East Anglia

Call to end bar on Catholic monarch.

By Gerri Peev - Political Correspondent

THE government is to consider abolishing the 300-year-old Act of Settlement that prevents Catholics ascending to the throne.The move was revealed by Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, after he unveiled his sweeping draft Constitutional Reform Bill yesterday. While the bill did not include any move to abolish what Catholics say is legalised discrimination, the matter was raised in the Commons by the Livingston Labour MP, Jim Devine, a Catholic.Describing the act as “legalised sectarianism which has no role in the 21st century”, he called for it to be scrapped.Mr Straw told him the position was complicated by the monarch’s position as head of the Anglican church but accepted the law was seen as “antiquated” and said: “We are certainly ready to consider this.”

However, abolishing the Act of Settlement would also require changes to the Act of Union, which safeguards the role of the Protestant Presbyterian Church in Scotland. And, given Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s fears of the influence of Nationalists, the government may be reluctant to unpick parts of the legislation that formally holds the UK together.READ ALL

Huh. Well, who knows!

Thanks Governors Ted Strickland & Mike Rounds!

Ohio Governor Ted Strickland (D) and South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds signed into law bills that require abortion clinics to provide fetal ultrasound to those women contemplating abortion. I want to publicly thank them for that. Those states join eleven other states that require ultrasound before an abortion and that is literally turning the tide on the abortion debate in favor of life. There is a entity called Womb with a View that does ultrasound and their selection of that name says it all.The Ohio bill, was passed by their Senate on March 14 and before that their House passed it in December 07. It is named the Ultrasound Viewing Bill, HB 314.

Read All

AsiaTimes commentator “Spengler” wrote what is below on the day of the election of Pope Benedict XVI - interestingly, it seems to have been written and gone to print just before the election was announced.

Three years on, approaching the 3d anniversary of the pontificate of B16, and the events of the past 36 months, this is proving fascinating to review.

Spengler is best described, I think, as an Evangelical who has had some prophetic visions. I have written about him before on his vision of China and the future of Christianity. He is a man (actually, is he a man?) of big thoughts. Thoughts I don’t always agree with, but thoughts I can never ignore.

Click on the title for the full article. (Emphasis mine.) Read the rest of this entry »

Homosexual activist and lifestyle publication The Advocate reports something that very well may qualify as “new under the sun.”

In the brave new world, after an operation for “gender re-assignment” a woman who has legally married another woman has opted to become “the pregnant husband”.

How does it feel to be a pregnant man? Incredible. Despite the fact that my belly is growing with a new life inside me, I am stable and confident being the man that I am. In a technical sense I see myself as my own surrogate, though my gender identity as male is constant. To Nancy, I am her husband carrying our child—I am so lucky to have such a loving, supportive wife. I will be my daughter’s father, and Nancy will be her mother. We will be a family.

I remain uncertain how it is the case that breast reconstruction and testosterone therapy allows a woman to be considered to be married to another woman. When it comes to pro-creating, nothing seems to have changed in that department.

So “How does it feel to be a man and to be pregnant?”  Find someone with an XY chromosome set who is pregnant and you will answer that question! Get out your lamp, Diogenes - you will be looking for one honest man for a good long time.

Now might be a good time to consider spending a little time with some of JP2’s Theology of the Body writings.

.

Pope to Baptize Prominent Muslim

By NICOLE WINFIELD – 3 hours ago

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Italy’s most prominent Muslim commentator is converting to Catholicism by being baptized by the pope at an Easter vigil, the Vatican announced Saturday.

Magdi Allam is the deputy editor of the Corriere della Sera newspaper and writes often on Muslim and Arab affairs. Born in Egypt, he has described himself as a non-practicing Muslim. He has long spoken out against extremism and in favor of tolerance.

Pope Benedict XVI was baptizing seven adults during the service, which marks the period between Good Friday, which commemorates Jesus’ crucifixion, and Easter Sunday, which marks his resurrection.

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said of Allam before the service that anyone who chooses to become a Catholic of his or her own free will has the right to receive the sacrament.

Lombardi said the pope administers the sacrament “without making any ‘difference of people,’ that is, considering all equally important before the love of God and welcoming all in the community of the Church.”

Benedict opened the lengthy nighttime service by blessing a white candle, which he then carried down the main aisle of the darkened St. Peter’s Basilica. Slowly, the pews began to light up as his flame was shared with candles carried by the faithful, until the whole basilica twinkled and the main lights came on. READ ALL

May God grant him many years in health and happiness.

May his conversion light the way for many more!

UPDATE ZENIT: Magdi Allam Recounts His Path To The Catholic Church

UPDATE: baptized by pope says life in danger “He said he made his decision to convert after years of deep soul searching and asserted that the Catholic Church has been ‘too prudent about conversions of Muslims.’”

Much hay is being made in the blogosphere about the 60% of priests in Belleville calling on Bishop Braxton to resign.  But is this accurate?

To get to the “60%” statistic being bandied about in the press and blogosphere, most are demonstrating that a lot of arbitrary and self-serving qualifications need to be used to achieve it.

To get to the “60%” mark one has to selectively excise a significant group of priests with faculties in the diocese by not counting those who were in orders and not diocesan, those who are on loan, those who are retired and have different capacities of activity.

At the end of the day, you come to 45 signatories actually located in the diocese (one is outside as a military chaplain) out of somewhere between 106-110 with faculties… and only 37 of those signatories not retired.

Interestingly, over at SOIL, a reader offers:

There are 38 active priests in the Diocese ordained 25 years or less.These are the “John Paul II” priests — attracted to the priesthood by the late Pope’s person, teaching, example. They are the bishops, chancellors, vicars general — and good parish priests — in the years to come.Of these 38 JPII priests, only 5 signed the infamous letter! That’s only 13%…This opposition to the Bishop is generational. Those trained/ordained in the 1960’s and 1970’s — who are now in their own ’60’s and 70’s — are the dissenters.

So of the Belleville 45, 40 of them were ordained in the 60s and 70s and now seem to enjoy - like a good many priests from that cohort - popularity among Call To Action and similar crowds. Interesting and telling.

I am still looking to cross-reference the signatories of the letter of revolt to the signatories of the 2005 letter of protest over the +Braxton appointment.

I am betting dollars to donuts that the men protesting today will be found to largely be the same group that were protesting +Braxton before +Braxton even got there. I smell expedience…

And the math just doesn’t add up to 60%.

See also: Bishop Braxton Fire Them!
See also: +Braxton’s “Belleville 46″ Identified - Look Familiar?
See also: Are You Kidding Me? SUPPORT BISHOP BRAXTON

King Abdullah extends hand of friendship to Catholic Church?

I have got to be honest, I don’t really believe this is that close to happening…  Then again, a lot of things that have happened in the past decade I would not have believed had I not lived through.

 Certainly this is something for which we should all pray.

So reports this article for the Times Online:

La Stampa, the Italian daily, said that the talks would have been “unthinkable” until recently. The way was paved by King Abdullah’s talks with the Pope and by the recent setting up of a permanent Catholic-Muslim forum to repair relations between the two faiths after the Pope’s controversial remarks on Islam at the University of Regensburg in 2006.

Read the rest of this entry »

Vatican signs agreement with Andorra.

I think it is pretty safe to say that anyone who ever played Risk as a child well knows that he who has Andorra on his side is utterly unstoppable.

Save yourself some misery, just give up now.

Below is the list of the “Belleville 46″ that constitute the majority of the “native born calling for resignation”… That is to say 46 = 60% of the priests with faculties in Belleville if and when you don’t count the 20ish priests who are on loan, and the 41 or so others who didn’t sign the letter of revolt.
So now that we have this list, can anyone do a little research for me and see if we can find a list of the signatories of the 2005 Letter of Protest against +Braxton’s assignment? I for one would very much like to cross check the list of those who were protesting his assignment with those calling for his ouster.

If they aren’t substantially the same, I will buy intrepid PC reader Rob of Arizona a Heineken. (He will have to come here to get it though - it is not legal to mail it.)

H/T: Doctor E!

1) Rev. Msgr. James A. Buerster
2) Rev. Msgr. Donald W. Eichenseer
3) Rev. Msgr. Thomas D. Flach Read the rest of this entry »

From Jihad Watch:

From Al-Arabiya (thanks to Sr. Soph):

A retired Kuwaiti superstar singer has recently left the Gulf emirate for Afghanistan to join ranks with al-Qaeda and Taliban forces in fighting foreign troops there, according to a press report published Saturday.Hussein al-Ahmad, who was until recently one of the Gulf’s most famous pop stars, decided to join “his Mujahideen brothers in Afghanistan to support Islam and fight alongside his fellow Muslims in al-Qaeda”, reported Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai Saturday.

Al-Ahmad has previously told Kuwait’s Al-Rai TV that the reason he decided to quit singing was “a dream” where he saw his “own journey from this world into the hereafter through death”.

“I’ve seen horrors and terrors I don’t think anybody else has. I thanked Allah for being alive when I woke up and I was grateful for the fact that He has given me a second chance,” the retired singer said.

“I then informed my family and friends that I would retire from the dark world of sin (singing). Since then, my job has been to warn against arts and their sinful atmosphere.”…

So they get Hussein al-Ahmad

Before and after

And all we get is doo-wop 50s rocker Dion DiMucci?

Wait a minute, now that I think about that one, I think we did far better.